'Our country is full': Trump says migrants straining system

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Declaring "our country is full," President
Donald Trump on Friday insisted the U.S. immigration system was
overburdened and illegal crossings must be stopped as he
inspected a refurbished section of fencing at the Mexican
border.

Trump, making a renewed push for border security as a central
campaign issue for his 2020 re-election, participated in a
briefing on immigration and border security in Calexico before
viewing a 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) see-through steel-slat barrier
that was a long-planned replacement for an older barrier — and
not new wall.

"There is indeed an emergency on our southern border," Trump
said at the briefing, adding that there has been a sharp uptick
in illegal crossings. "It's a colossal surge and it's
overwhelming our immigration system, and we can't let that
happen. ... We can't take you anymore. We can't take you. Our
country is full."

As Air Force One touched down in the state, California and 19
other states that are suing Trump over his emergency
declaration to build a border wall requested a court order to
stop money from being diverted to fund the project. But Trump,
who ratcheted up his hard-line immigration rhetoric in recent
weeks, declared that his move, which included vetoing a
congressional vote, was necessary.

Also on Friday, House Democrats filed a lawsuit preventing
Trump from spending more money than Congress has approved to
erect barriers along the southwestern border. Congress approved
just under $1.4 billion for work on border barricades. Trump
has asserted he can use his powers as chief executive to
transfer an additional $6.7 billion to wall construction.

Trump, who earlier in the week threatened to shut down the
border over the high numbers of migrants trying to enter the
U.S., appeared to walk back his comments Thursday. He said
Friday that it was because Mexico had gotten tougher in
stopping an influx of immigrants from moving north.

"Mexico has been absolutely terrific for the last four days,"
the president said as he left the White House. "I never changed
my mind at all. I may shut it down at some point."

The president's visit came a day after he withdrew his nominee
to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Longtime
border official Ron Vitiello appeared to be cruising toward
confirmation, but Trump said Friday that he wanted to go in a
"tougher direction."

Trump, as he so often does, mixed fact with fiction when
warning of the threat at the border. When complaining about the
Flores legal settlement that governs treatment of migrant
children and families, he blamed "Judge Flores, whoever you may
be." But Flores was an unaccompanied 15-year-old girl from El
Salvador.

He also downplayed the claims of people seeking asylum at the
border, declaring without evidence that many are gang members
while comparing some of their efforts to find safety in the
U.S. to special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of
Russian interference in the 2016 elections.

"It's a scam, it's a hoax," Trump said. "I know about hoaxes. I
just went through a hoax."

As the president showed off the renovated section of the
barrier to reporters, a balloon depicting Trump as a baby
floated further down the border. And as Trump landed in
California, the state's governor ripped the president's push
for Congress to pass legislation that would tighten asylum
rules to make it harder for people to qualify.

"Since our founding, this country has been a place of refuge —
a safe haven for people fleeing tyranny, oppression and
violence. His words show a total disregard of the Constitution,
our justice system, and what it means to be an American," said
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Trump has been increasingly exasperated at his inability to
halt the swelling number of migrants entering the U.S.,
including thousands who have been released after arriving
because border officials have no space for them. Arrests along
the southern border have skyrocketed in recent months, and
border agents were on track to make 100,000 arrests or denials
of entry in March, a 12-year high. More than half of those are
families with children, who require extra care.

The southern border is nearly 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers)
long and already has about 650 miles (1,050 kilometers) of
different types of barriers, including short vehicle barricades
and tall steel fences that go up to 30 feet (9 meters) high.
Most of the fencing was built during George W. Bush's
administration, and there have been updates and maintenance
throughout other administrations.

Trump has yet to complete any new mileage of fencing or other
barriers anywhere on the border, though he declared Friday
that at least 400 miles (650 kilometers) of the border
barrier would be erected over the next two years. His
administration so far has only replaced existing fencing.
Construction for that small chunk of fencing cost about $18
million, began in February 2018 and was completed in October.
Plans to replace that fence date back to 2009, during
President Barack Obama's tenure.

Administration officials had been studying ways to minimize
the economic impact of a potential border closure in case
Trump went through with his threat, including keeping
trucking lanes open or closing only certain ports.

But even absent that extraordinary step, delays at border
stations have been mounting after some 2,000 border officers
were reassigned from checking vehicles to deal with migrant
crowds.

After the border visit, Trump traveled to Los Angeles for a
pair of fundraisers in the deeply liberal city. He then
traveled to Las Vegas for another re-election fundraiser and
an address to the Republican Jewish Coalition, which is
backed by GOP mega-donor Sheldon Adelson.

___

Lemire reported from New York. Associated Press writers Jill
Colvin and Alan Fram contributed to this report from
Washington.

___

Follow Miller on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@zekejmiller
and Lemire at http://twitter.com/@JonLemire

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